Looking for information on Windows Longhorn and Macs

Intel · Post by **Intel** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 2:01 pm

Does anyone know when Windows Longhorn will be released and what is going to be included in it? In a few years time I am planning to perhaps get a new computer and am considering whether I should stay with Windows or get an Apple Mac. Have any of you had a Windows computer and also used a Mac? If you could share your experiences and thoughts on both it would be brilliant.

renovation · Post by **renovation** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 3:14 pm

would be brilliant would be if it ever gets released and is not full of bugs or blotted ! (longhorn that is ! )
also welcome to pca !

Absolut Talent · Post by **Absolut Talent** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:08 pm

hes been here since 2002....think his welcome has been worn out

As for the difference....I have never used a mac long enough to fully understand it. I wont go into a whole windows vs mac because honestly I cant make a fully comparable arguement.

From the little bit I know...I would still say to stick with the windows because of the software capatability. Everything seems to work on windows.....but limited few on mac.

As for the longhorn....from what ive seen so far, dont wait on it. Stick with what works (well...what works to a point). WinXP and win2k are solid.

Busby · Post by **Busby** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:54 pm

The major difference between Windows and Mac is the architecture of the two computers. The architecture changes the way in which the boards interact and programs and drivers can't make the same calls on the Mac as they can on the PC. There is more support for games and programs and about everything for Windows. Mac have a place though. There place is either a) in a dumpster or b) in a professional environment when massive video editing, image editing, 3d modeling, etc. is done. Mac is/was the champ when it came to that whole realm. The PC has caught up drastically and now it's a toss-up and with the PC being cheaper and more customizable and more upgradable, many people just go with PCs. Windows is a beast in itself. People are heading towards the open source (Linux, BSDs, UNIX) for some of the massive processing requirements. For example, a lot of the math department here at GA Tech uses Linux for doing their research and such. Windows has its place on desktops for the average person because of the ease of use. It doesn't however, IMO, have a place in the server market. I think *nix is much more secure and powerful than Windows.

TruckStuff · Post by **TruckStuff** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 9:50 pm

Originally posted by Busby
...b) in a professional environment when massive video editing, image editing, 3d modeling, etc. is done. Mac is/was the champ when it came to that whole realm...

I used to think this until I went to work for a graphics company earlier this year. My boss is a Mac freak (really into all the propaganda about how much mroe secure OSX is) and always has been. The rest of our graphics group work on PCs by choice. We have a couple of G5s sitting around not being used by anyone but my boss. I asked them about it and they said that all the leading packages for graphics (Photoshop, Soundforge, 3D Stuido Maxx, Maya, etc.) are designed for PCs. Sure, there are "ports" to Mac, but they aren't the full featured versions that are on the PCs. Macs aren't dominant in the graphics market anymore.

Busby · Post by **Busby** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 1:34 am

Photoshop used to be made for the Mac and then ported to the PC. I don't know about the others but I know Photoshop was a Mac designed product for awhile and then ported over as where a lot of Adobe's programs and this was evident in that some of the menus showed the Apple key instead of Control and whatnot. It's been awhile since I've seen such things though and it's obviously changed now. Doesn't surprise me in the least bit however. When I watch things on Pixar I see them use Macs to do the modeling and setup of the screen. The actual processing is done by massive server farms. I guess now-a-days it does just boil down to personal perference and choice.

DocSilly · Post by **DocSilly** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 2:50 am

I wouldn't worry today about a future PC purchase in maybe a few years

Worry about it when you're ready to buy

Longhorn is still far away in the future (sometime 2006) and they haven't even settled on all the new features they'll include...